New Book Celebrates 10th Anniversary of ASU Football’s Historic Win over Michigan

Published Thursday, July 6, 2017 at 12:20 pm

By Bailey Faulkner

Photo courtesy of David Marmins

The first day of September this year will mark a decade since the game that is often called the “greatest upset in college football history.” If you were around to see the game back in 2007 or if you want to learn more about the lopsided matchup that solidified Mountaineer football and dealt a major blow to a giant of the sport, there’s no better way to celebrate the occasion than with David J. Marmins’ and Steven K. Feit’s new book Appalachian State Silences the Big House: Behind the Greatest Upset in College Football History.

Marmins and Feit — a civil litigation partner in Atlanta and an award-winning college sportswriter, respectively — focus their work on revealing what went on behind the scenes during ASU’s preparations for its huge season opener in Ann Arbor that year. Along the way, the authors take an in-depth approach to show why the “cupcake” game, one in which a lower-division team is paid to travel and play against a higher-division team at one of the nation’s larger college football venues, didn’t turn out as nearly anyone expected.

Led by head coach Jerry Moore and his insistence on “speed and character,” the ASU football program made the trip to Michigan as sources like the Associated Press asserted that the Mountaineers “weren’t expected to be anything more than sacrificial lambs.” By the end of the first half, the Mountaineers knew that their hard work and constant conditioning were paying off, leaving for halftime with a 28-17 lead.

Concluding the nail-biting game with a field goal from kicker Julian Rauch and a blocked field goal attempt by Mountaineer Corey Lynch that ultimately sealed the deal, the Appalachian football team immediately secured its place in college football history as one of the fiercest underdog programs of all time. Covered as the lead story for ESPN’s SportsCenter and the feature of the following week’s Sports Illustrated issue, the win shocked the country as an “Alltime Upset.”

The momentous victory was not only the biggest win in ASU’s history but also an unprecedented event for college football as a whole. Coming into the match ranked No. 5 in FBS polls, Michigan became the first football program in history to start from a top-five rank and drop out of the top 25 AP Poll due to a single loss.

Marmins’ and Feit’s new book is available for purchase online through Amazon, Target, Google Books and other major sites. You can pick up a paperback copy for $22.50 or an E-book version for $13.99 here.

For more information on the game that will never be forgotten, check out this Sports Illustrated article written just before the two teams’ rematch back in 2014.